I Heart Tools: Vintaj Big Kick

In September I was fortunate enough to attend a two day Vintaj workshop in Galena, Illinois at the Vintaj Earth Studio.  It was an incredibly inspiring weekend with more tips and tricks packed into two days than one would think possible.  One of my favorite projects was working with the new Vintaj Big Kick Machine.  We embossed textures and images unto Vintaj blanks to create fun pendants and components.

Here are some class projects of the altered blanks embossed and riveted with charms and pendants.  I love the look of layering the pendants.  It's fun way to customize your metal without hammering away or pulling out the chemicals.  The process is so simple, you can whip out a ton of pendants in a short session.

Add the embossed blanks with your favorite art beads for quick and easy holiday pendants.  In fact, that is what I'm doing this weekend to prepare for upcoming holiday shows.  I'm pairing up the tree pendants with my egg, bird and branch beads.

Step by step directions and video links can be found here.

This is the Big Kick - it's sort of like a printing press.  You place your metal blank into the folder, layer it between the two sheets of plastic and run it through.  Yep - that's it!  After your pendant is done, you can add some depth by buffing it.  The black Arte Metal blanks buff up with silver highlights - loved them!

This is my favorite folder - me and that tree became fast friends.

You can find the Vintaj Big Kick & folders at Hobby Lobby or online at Beadaholique or Bello Modo.

I see that Vintaj is hosting a one day workshop covering the embossing and melt art techniques in November.  Click here for more details.